How Do You Connect With God?Sample

You connect best with God through fasting. When you deny your flesh and feed your spirit, you feel closest to God. When you fast, you are resetting your appetite for the things of the Spirit. This spiritual discipline awakens your sensitivity to hear God’s voice, to see what He wants to show you, and to be led into things He calls you to. Fasting creates a supernatural faith and a spiritual strength. You intentionally withhold your desires to draw closer to God. Fasting is not just abstaining, but it is filling yourself up with the things of God. Like Daniel, you are resolved not to be filled with things of the world but full of the Holy Spirit. When you intentionally withhold (entertainment, social media, food, etc.), you can set distractions aside to fully lean into what God is saying in clarity.

TYPES OF FASTS:

• Water Only Fast (Jesus, Moses, Elijah)
• Partial Fast (Daniel) • Full Fast (Esther)
• Liquid Fast (juicing)
• Sex fast for Married Couples (1 Corinthians 7:5)
• Corporate Fast (All Israel)
• Fast Anything! (TV, Social Media, Spending, etc. / Whatever the Lord puts on your heart to fast)
• Weekly, Monthly, Yearly Fasts

Suggested Activities:

• Ask yourself, “What do I need to give up to connect better with God?” “What is keeping me from a deeper connection with God?”
• Ask the Lord what to name your fast and what to expect. Put a demand of faith on your fast!
• Ask God what to fast (food, media, entertainment, etc.) and reset your appetite to hunger and thirst for Jesus. • Ask God how long you are supposed to fast.
• Have a fasting journal. Document what you are praying about, hearing God say, and the breakthroughs that happen after the fast.
• Be obedient but also wise in your fasting! You can learn to grow in fasting, whether it’s meals, days, weekends, weeks, or extended fasts.

Encouragement:

Without prayer, fasting is just a diet. While withholding entertainment, social media, or food, be intentional about filling yourself up with the Lord through prayer, worship, and reading your Bible. It is not a fast unless you lean into your daily personal encounters with God. Jesus was tempted when He was fasting. This is why it is important that we daily encounter Him while we fast. Take time to be with the Lord outside of your typical discipline and agendas for no other reason than to be with Him and to hear what is on His heart. Don’t allow shame to settle in if you break your fast before it’s over—you can restart and keep going! Jesus responded to attacks from the enemy with the Word of God. When you fast, fill yourself up with His Word. Be cautious of boasting while fasting, but if someone asks if you are fasting you can answer. Don’t be weird about it! Pursue humility while you fast because fasting opens doors no person can open. Jesus began His ministry by fasting. Fasting gives you access to His throne, and a breakthrough can come after the fast.

In addition to the Scripture references attached to this day, the entire book of Daniel is a reference as well.